Louis Riel Essay - a Hero or a Rebel?

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Riel was the best leader of the Métis.

Riel always organized peaceful protest. He did not show any hostility against the Canadian government or the English people. This could be seen in many aspects—when his people were fighting against the English or the Canadian government, Louis Riel tried his best to avoid any kind of bloodshed. On December 7, 1869, even though the English people were gathering army and aiming to attack the Métis, he decided to wait 15 minutes outside the fort in order to let all the ordinary people, especially women and children, to dismiss before they attacked in. In every fight, he always told his men not to fire unless the enemy assaulted first. This is self-defense but not deliberate offense. After negotiating with John McDonald, he expected the English to meet their requirements therefore he rejected the military help from Mr. Dumont. Namely, he rejected to show animosity and the chance to defeat the English. Lastly, rather than using violence, he tried to send petitions a number of times in hope of handling the situations through negotiations. Also, in the Red River Settlement, Riel guaranteed impartial political authority to both French and English representatives by proposing the setup of a convention composed of 20 French and 20 English even though English people were the minority of Red River Settlement. This shows Louis Riel carried on his movement in a fair and peaceful way and never acted in a violent way deliberately against the English people or the Canadian government.

Riel put the Métis as the top priority in his life. Beginning with warning the surveyors in the Red River Settlement who were not legally supposed to be there until December to get out of their territory, he raised his voice for the further protection of the Metis people. Riel never gave up the right to the land came back to the Saskatchewan settlement to help the Cree. At that time, the Cree signed a treaty with the English that stated the Cree would give the land to the English. Also, until becoming self-sufficient in farming, the food for the Cree would be offered by the English people. However, English did not do as it was written on the treaty and the extreme starvation caused death of numerous people. Under the despairing circumstance, Louis Riel headed to Saskatchewan settlement without hesitating, giving up his stable life with a higher income with his wife and daughters.

Overall, the evidences firmly state the crimes of Louis Riel are unreasonable, and it is undoubted that he was a leader who protected the Métis right as peacefully as he could. He inspired and encouraged the people nowadays to raise their voices to speak up against the injustice. Riel enlightened dreamers to devote their heart into it whatever they love and to keep their faith in something that is important for them. The status of Louis Riel was an innocent Métis hero that should be graved in our heart for his gallantry, insistence, and kindness eternally.